Chapter 20
A crowd.
A literal human tide.
People in every direction. They were pressed so tightly against Black Swan, squeezing their limbs, that they couldn't move an inch.
Wedged in the middle of it,
Black Swan, a Chinese special-operations Hunter, thought:
‘What is going on?’
They'd been carrying out their mission just moments ago.
‘A trap?’
They hadn't neglected to consider booby traps.
Traps that caused physical damage or activated magic were common, after all.
If Korea's prized Hunter was the target, of course they'd have prepared for this.
They'd even come wrapped in all sorts of defensive artifacts.
‘But what on earth is this….’
They'd been caught by a trick they hadn't expected at all.
Spatial transference?
A trap that sent you to a random place on contact?
‘No.’
They'd never heard of a spatial-transfer trap like that.
And besides…
It felt bizarre for this to be reality.
They looked around.
The people around them felt somehow uncanny.
Every one of them was expressionless and lifeless.
They looked human, and yet not human.
‘I don't know what the hell is going on…. I need to get back first.’
Their comrades were still at the scene.
They had to recover them, no matter what.
If they were discovered, then….
“I don't even want to imagine it.”
It would cause a tremendous diplomatic disaster.
“First, the exit….”
There weren't any signs or directions in sight.
They seemed to be deep inside a subway station.
But a subway was still just a subway. Wherever you went, you'd find your way out.
They hid in the crowd and carefully matched its pace.
They were, after all, undercover.
There was nothing to gain by drawing attention.
Step- Step-
They walked leisurely, like someone who used this subway every day.
After walking for a while with a somewhat relaxed expression,
“…?”
They sensed something was wrong.
‘It's been quite a while.’
And they were still inside the subway station?
They felt like they hadn't made any progress at all.
It was strange. No matter how they thought about it, it was strange.
The people around them, who could barely take one step at a time, were strange.
The scenery around them, which never changed, was strange.
Was this even a subway station?
Had they heard a train passing?
Putting all that aside, what about the sounds of people?
Thud-
“What's your problem? Stop bumping into me!”
Bump-
“Quit blocking the way and hurry up.”
Aside from the people they bumped into, and thus interacted with,
nobody said a single word.
‘Something's wrong.’
Something was seriously wrong.
They didn't know what kind of place this was, but it definitely wasn't normal.
Shiver-
Goosebumps prickled all over them.
A sense of extreme danger washed over Black Swan.
They couldn't stay here any longer. They had to get out as soon as possible.
“Get out of my way!”
Black Swan shoved people aside and pushed forward.
“What the hell?!”
“Hey, what's wrong with them?”
“Don't push! You think shoving people will make you go faster?”
Those irritated reactions came only from the people right around them.
They didn't care.
They pushed people aside and knocked them down as they moved forward.
They kept going straight so they wouldn't lose their way.
One hour.
Two hours.
Maybe a day, or even a week.
They just kept walking and running.
‘…And I'm still in the same place.’
The exit still wasn't in sight.
They pressed themselves against a wall.
They felt that was the only way they could rest, even a little.
‘Think. Think.’
Now they had to focus.
They understood that this was an unreal space.
Then how could they escape?
Physical means wouldn't work.
There had to be some specific method….
‘A gimmick?’
Right, a gimmick. There had to be a gimmick.
There had to be an escape gimmick.
No matter how powerful the mage, they couldn't create infinite space.
Maybe the gimmick was something very simple.
If they could find that key, they could get out of here.
Then what kind of gimmick could it be?
‘Kill people?’
If this was an unreal space,
wouldn't it be fine to kill a few people?
Black Swan raised their mana.
Slash-
The head of the unsettling mannequin-like person flew off.
Blood spurted up.
Even so, hardly anyone reacted.
Only the people nearby screamed, then fell silent.
‘Was one not enough?’
This time, they went all out.
The station became a sea of blood.
When one group fell, the next crowd surged in.
They mowed them down, then mowed down more.
They cut throats and slit stomachs.
But all that lay before them was a crowd that had refilled in no time.
In the endless battle, Black Swan slowly began to break.
‘Please…. Please let me go. Let me go back….’
Black Swan didn't know.
Even as their mind nearly shattered, they didn't know.
That there was no such thing as a gimmick here.
Because this wasn't an anomaly in the first place.
What Black Swan was seeing and feeling
was merely an illusion embedded in the doorknob.
The only way out was for the doorknob's mana battery to run out,
or for the caster to dispel the magic.
***
“Hey, you.”
“Kuoo?”
“When did you think you weren't under an illusion?”
Flash-
He sent mana shooting straight ahead.
His target was the green giant in front of him.
An orc.
Crackle-
“Kuoo?”
Mana burrowed straight into the orc's skull.
The orc hesitated, as if confused.
“You try it, too!”
He manipulated the mana, rummaging wildly through its mind.
“Found it.”
The orc's amygdala.
He immediately plunged mana into it.
“KuoOOOOOO—”
The orc clutched its head and thrashed.
Thump-
It dropped to its knees and collapsed onto the floor,
then foamed at the mouth and fell still.
[Floor 11 cleared.]
The orc had died on the spot.
Hooo.
Better than expected?
He'd tried it out as a test, but it exceeded his expectations.
He hadn't expected it to be lethal, too.
Against an enemy with weak mental defenses, it might even be worth using as a main attack.
Even if the effect was weaker, it didn't matter.
Depending on the situation, he could probably use it as a crowd-control skill.
[8,513 points]
[First to achieve SSS rank on Floor 11!]
[Additional rewards will be granted.]
[1 Growth Fragment has been added.]
[Hell difficulty clear bonus]
[1 Growth Fragment has been added.]
Status messages kept popping up.
Once again, he easily acquired three Growth Fragments.
He invested all the fragments he received into mana.
“Status Window!”
Flash-
[Strength: 5]
[Agility: 4]
[Mana: 37]
Wow, that's gone up a lot.
He'd already reached 37 mana.
Four times what he'd had right after awakening.
If he cleared the next floor without trouble, he'd hit 40 mana.
“And if I add Moo-sang's resonance on top of that?”
Wung-?
“When are you going to grow?”
Wung-wung-wung-
Hmm.
Moo-sang, wanna move out?
This big sis is at her limit now.
No, not Big Sis.
Anyway.
Over the same period, I was growing three times faster than everyone else.
It was getting a little scary now.
“Ahem, well, let's go back, Moo-sang.”
Pop-!
.
.
.
Pop-!
I returned to my room.
Boing- boing-
I immediately fell onto the bed.
Feeling the spring beneath me, I flopped onto my back!
Wung-
Then Moo-sang vibrated.
“Are you sulking, Moo-sang?”
Moo-sang, I was joking. I like you just the way you are now.
Probably.
I gently stroked Moo-sang.
Wuuuuung-wung-
Moo-sang kept trembling anyway.
What's this?
“What's wrong? Do you sense something?”
There's something in our house?
Srrr-
A chill shot down my spine.
Something did seem different.
The temperature and humidity in this room.
I felt like they'd gone up a little?
‘I-it's probably nothing, right?’
Let's check.
Creak-
I cracked open the door leading to the living room.
“Eek!”
It wasn't nothing.
There were a whole bunch of dark figures.
Were they people?
Had they triggered the illusion trap and passed out?
Why were there people in our house?
Had actual bad guys come?
Just in case, I checked my messages.
It could've been someone Capybara or the bear sent.
If so, this was my fault.
‘I should've told them in advance that I set traps.’
Rrrr-rrr-
Holding my breath, I scrolled up for a while.
There was nothing about that anywhere.
If anything, the messages all said that if they needed to meet me, they'd come in person.
Then it had to be…
“Intruders…!”
Wung-wung-
“Gasp!”
I carefully closed the door.
I couldn't believe how lucky I was that they'd all fallen for the traps.
‘I should ask for help before the illusion wears off.’
Tap-tap-tap-
I hurriedly typed a message to the bear.
I held my breath the whole time, too.
I mean, it was still hard.
─There's someone in my house
─3 people
─Unconscious
─For now
Sent.
Patapatapat-
I immediately squeezed back into bed and pulled the blanket over me.
I knew it was ridiculous to do this when there were people I didn't even know beyond the door.
But I didn't think I could calm down otherwise…!
How long did I shiver like that?
Ding-
Dingding- ding-a-ling-
The messages started pouring in.
The bear must've been busy, because they were all from the capybaras.
─Hikki-nim! Quick, what's the front door password?!
└0000
─Huh?!
Creak-
The door opened.
I heard the footsteps of two people.
“Holy crap, these bastards.”
“Hikki-nim, just stay inside. We'll take care of them.”
“W-wait…!”
“Yes?”
I shouted with my eyes squeezed shut.
The feet that were about to start moving around stopped.
“Doorknob, rubber gloves, fan.”
“Pardon?”
Ah…! I can't get the words out.
Let's just text them.
─ Doorknob, rubber gloves, fan, drying rack, pull-up bar, and bedside table, too.
─ Don't touch
─ Touching them is rough
─ You'll suffer a lot.
“Looks like you put some measures in place.”
“Seems so.”
“Yes! We'll keep that in mind!”
I heard them get back to work.
“Search them properly. Any IDs?”
“Nope. No wallet, either. Just a ton of artifacts.”
“Wow, these look insanely high-end.”
“If I had artifacts like these, I could've climbed ten more floors.”
They'd come decked out in artifacts, too?
They were totally serious about this.
Whew, that was a close call.
“Let's move them to the car for now.”
Thud-thud-
I heard footsteps going up and down the stairs several times.
“Hikki-nim, we've loaded them all into our car. Do you know when they'll wake up?”
When would they wake up?
I thought it over.
They must've come in while I was in the Tower….
In about six hours?
“That long…? Uh, got it! We'll hand them over to the Awakened Management Bureau and come back! Get some rest!”
“Okaaay…….”
Peace at last.
“I can finally relax…. Good job, Moo-sang.”
Just as I was finally catching my breath,
a message came from the bear.
─I sincerely apologize, Hikki-nim.
It began with that.
Then came a long-winded stream of apologies, regret, and misery.
No, I'm not doing this to get an apology from you….
─We carefully reviewed the security arrangements, but ended up leaving a blind spot.
─I apologize again.
─We'll identify the intruders and take measures to ensure this never happens again.
Right….
Thank you for your service….
─Hikki-nim, there's something else I'd like to suggest.
Then the bear tentatively broached the subject.
─Your current residence has clearly been exposed. How about we arrange a move as soon as possible?
Moving.
Oh, moving!
I'd asked for that, hadn't I?
But I hadn't meant moving to another residence.
‘I mean…. Couldn't we remodel the house I live in and use that?’
Just buy this villa with my own money, then use the whole building.
And build a spacious training ground in the basement.
That's what I'd been thinking!
If I moved somewhere else, I'd have to pack and move all my stuff, and I'd have to go outside….
“Ugh….”
That sounds like a lot of work.
─We did consider that option as a top priority.
─However, there are significant risks, including security concerns, the building's structural integrity, and safety issues.
─We strongly recommend moving to a property prepared by the Bureau….
Is that so?
Well, this building is old.
If I wanted to carry out the large-scale renovation I had in mind, it'd basically be a full reconstruction.
In the end, I'd still have to live somewhere else in the meantime.
I guess it can't be helped.
─These are the three properties we recommend.
‘All three are in Seoul….’
But aren't these places really expensive?
One name caught my eye.
Cheongdam-dong.
Businesspeople, celebrities, Hunters ranked among the top….
It was known as a place where the richest people in Korea lived.
They were offering me a whole detached house there.
─It comes fully equipped with a swimming pool, fitness facilities, and a private training ground.
─Other Hunters, including Fire Sword, live nearby, so it's also a very safe neighborhood.
That was true….
No one would cause trouble in a neighborhood where superheroes lived.
└Then let's go with that….
─Understood. We'll move forward as quickly as possible.
“Sigh.”
I ended up agreeing on the spot.
First the down payment, and now Cheongdam-dong had won me over, too.
After committing to it, regret hit me at lightning speed.
Moving….
Moving!
“Going outside!!!”